My Brother's Keeper
by ChatterChick
Summary: Sophie Potter is the younger sister of the infamous Harry Potter. Her life at Hogwarts should be set, but things take an unexpected turn when she is sorted into Slytherin. Being green is never easy, especially when those cunning folk will befriend you just as fast as they would cut your throat.
1. The Second Child

My Brother's Keeper

by ChatterChick

Summary: In a world where Wormtail held out longer, things happened a little differently. AU POA. Harry has a sister!

A/N I thought I'd write this for fun. It's my take on Harry-has-a-sister. The alternative events that lead to this timeline will be eventually revealed. So read, please enjoy and maybe review and let me know what you think! :)

_Chapter 1: The Second Child _

"Where Mummy?" Harry asked. It wasn't the first time he asked for his parents.

Lily had gone into labour several hours ago. Sirius had been called in to entertain Harry in the sitting room while Lily and James were preoccupied in the bedroom. James had put muffler charms around the bedroom so Harry wouldn't be upset by the noises, so Sirius had no idea what was going on upstairs. He wondered if Lily was done yet, wondered if everything was fine with her and the baby.

With the Potters still sequestered away from the world, Lily hadn't even been able to go see a proper healer for a check-up and the birth would have to be at the Potters' home.

At this point, James had finished half of his healer training and was able to assist the birth himself. Harry had been born at a muggle hospital under a false identity. Becoming a father for the first time had been nerve-wrecking enough for James without leaving his family open and exposed during a war and leaving his wife and child to muggle medicine.

"Daddy's helping Mummy take the baby out of her belly," Sirius tried to explain. Lily's growing stomach and the baby inside had fascinated Harry the past few months. He remembered Harry's delight when he would awkwardly pat Lily's stomach and be rewarded with a kick or response from the baby. "When they're done, you'll get your new brother or sister."

"They little like me?" Harry asked. Sirius ruffled the messy mop of Potter hair. This was the first time Harry would get to meet another child. He was glad Harry would get to have some normalcy and a playmate as he grew older.

"Even littler! Want to make a bet, Harry?" Sirius asked the toddler. "We'll have biscuits for supper if you can guess if you're getting a brother or sister."

Harry had accumulated an impressive amount of lost bets against Sirius for a boy not yet two. Although Sirius was quick to forgive Harry's loses and give him the promised prize anyway.

"I get naming rights for your first child if you lose. What do you say, Harry? Brother or sister?"

Harry titled his head in thought. "Brother!"

Sirius chuckled. He had been hoping for a boy too.

The door upstairs opened and Sirius' ears perked up as he heard the soft murmurs of James' voice. Tenseness that he hadn't been aware of relaxed. James sounded happy, everything must have gone okay. He could hear the heavy footsteps on the old, wooden stairs and then the muted footsteps on the carpet. Suddenly James was standing in front of him with a bundle of blue blankets, a wide grin across his face. Sirius felt his own lips pull back into a smile at his friend's happiness.

"A girl," James proudly informed them. "She's beautiful, looks just like her Mummy."

"And Lily?"

"She's fine, just resting for now."

"Let me see," Harry pleaded as he pulled James' trouser leg. "Let me see!"

"A little sister for Harry," James knelt down so Harry could inspect this new member of the family. Harry seemed curious at first; pulling the blue blanket to get a good look at her wrinkled, pink face. "What do you think?"

"Don't want sister," Harry announced. He looked up at the adults around him. "She too little."

He seemed doubtful of his new sister's ability to be as much use as a playmate. The next few weeks would only reconfirm his initial misgivings, and eventually lead to resentment as the new sister received extra attention and taxed their energies.

"She'll get bigger, just like her brother did."

Harry protested, as if they were trying to deceive him."Was not that little!"

"Yes you were," James laughed. "How else would you have fit inside Mummy's belly?"

Sirius ruffled Harry's hair since James' arms were full with the baby. Cautiously, James stood up again, cuddling his new daughter into his chest. James' entire being beamed with a new-father glow. He seemed determine to commit every last detail of his new child to memory. He stared at her, transfixed at the sight and it appeared that the feeling was mutual as the baby stared back at him.

"Would you like to hold her?" James offered, glancing up at Sirius.

Sirius mutely nodded, holding his arms out and listening as James instructed him how to hold a newborn. There was very little reaction at the change of person, but Sirius mused that must have been a good thing. Harry screamed bloody murder when Lily had first given him to Sirius.

"Why hello there," Sirius murmured. The baby's eyes starred unabashedly up at him now. She had the traditional blue eyes of a newborn and honestly Sirius wouldn't have been able to tell her apart from any other. She was pretty, he decided, James' girl could only be beautiful. "Have you decided on a name?"

With his hands free, James tested her reflexes, poking her hands and watching as they curled around his finger. "Sophie Lily Potter."

xXxXx

"I think that's everything," James said as he consulted her school list one last time. "Sophie?"

Sophie wasn't paying attention as she eyed the crimson red and gold ink wells. Her father pulled out a bottle of jet black ink and another of midnight blue and put them in her basket along with her new eagle quills and rolls of parchment.

"You may want to wait until you're sorted before buying all Gryffindor colours." James teased her.

Her Uncle Sirius had the opposite opinion as he reappeared, carrying a stack of red and gold bounded notebooks. "I think she has enough supplies to last until third year," Sirius joked as he added them to her basket. "Does Harry need anything?"

Her father shook his head. "I gave him some gold and sent him with Ron and Hermione to pick up anything he's missing."

Sophie laughed. "He's probably spent it all at Quality Quidditch Supplies then. Said something earlier about needing new gloves – "

Another bottle of black ink and extra rolls of parchment were added to Sophie's basket for her brother.

"While you finish up here, I need Sophie's opinion on another purchase."

"Fine, fine," James said as he took Sophie's basket. "I'll meet you two at the Leaky for supper then?"

Sophie allowed herself to be pulled away from Amanuensis Quills, wondering what Sirius was up to now. There was always something thrilling about shopping with him. Sirius had no idea how to budget and had no regard for James' rules. Last time, he had taken her down Knockturn Alley to buy aconite at Mr Mulpepper's since Slug and Jiggey didn't carry any. Her father would have _never_ allowed her to wander around such a place. Sirius didn't seem to mind, said Sophie was safe enough as long as she stuck close to him. They had lunch at Coffin Café and spent the afternoon trying to guess what the dark artefacts in the shop windows did.

"Now, how about I get you a gift for that acceptance letter," Sirius said as they parted ways with James. "I let Harry pick out an owl for his, would you want a pet or – "

"Really?" She asked, eagerly. "And you asked Dad?"

Sirius' eyebrows lifted innocently. "A pet it is!"

Sophie was giddy with excitement as Sirius led them towards Magical Menagerie. She had wanted her own pet since she was young. Her father always maintained that they already had the family owl, but then Sirius had gotten Harry an owl for Hogwarts and Sophie went green with jealousy before redoubling her efforts. With a great sweeping bow, Sirius held the door open for her.

"After you," he gallantly offered.

"Thank you," Sophie giggled as she attempted to give a mock curtsy in return.

"Now, were you thinking an owl like your brother?" Sirius asked as he inspected the owls in stock. A Great Horned Owl twisted his head around to stare back at Sirius. "There's always Eeylops Owl Emporium if you can't find one here."

An owl would be useful, and they were such beautiful creatures. Between her brother's and her father's owls, she didn't think she really needed one. She snuck a sideways glance at her godfather, wondering what he'd say. Sirius seemed more of a dog person to her, but what she really wanted was a cat.

"What about a cat?"

He pulled a face and gave a long suffering sigh. "I don't know where James went wrong with you."

"Dad said Mum had a cat when she went to Hogwarts."

James always said she reminded him of her mum. It made her happy to have so much in common with the woman she could barely remember. Sometimes, she purposely did things she knew her mum did just to have that connection.

"She did, bloody awful thing it was too. Are you sure you want one?" Sirius gave her a playful push towards the back of the store, where the cats were kept. A store clerk hurried over to them.

"This is the girls' room" the store clerk was staying as he let them into a room full of cats. "They've all been fixed." Sophie smiled and started petting some of the cats who approached her, mewing for attention. She liked a small calico that purred as she leaned into Sophie's hand. She was so tiny and adorable. Sophie stood up, wandering around the room and looking at the other cats.

A large, shorthaired grey cat leapt from the windowsill, claws extended, at Sophie's throat. She caught the cat midair, holding it with both hands. Sophie and the cat starred each other down for a moment. The cat's large, yellow eyes almost glaring at her.

Sirius let out a great barking laugh. "I like her!"

"That would be Artemis," the clerk said, a strained smile. "I think he likes you."

"You named a male, fixed cat after a goddess of fertility?" Sirius asked. He grinned, clearly fond of the devil already. "What do you think, Sophie?"

He seemed friendly now that he wasn't lunched midair. But Sophie still didn't trust Artemis.

"Artemis would probably do well at Hogwarts," the clerk started singing the cat's praises when he realized Sirius seemed interested in him. "I imagine that's where your daughter is going?"

People regularly assumed Sirius was her father when the two of them were out. Sophie's paternal grandmother, Dorea Potter, was Sirius' great-aunt and had all the typical Black looks. Some of these, like the dark coloured hair, were passed on to James, and then onto her and Harry.

Sirius waved off the mistake. "Yes, she's going to Hogwarts."

The clerk wasn't really listening. "He's an outdoor cat so you'll have to let him out or he'll try to escape. But he comes right back. He's is a bit of a scrapper, he kept picking fights and getting beat up by the other male cats. Very independent, but he seems keen for you. Good little hunter, whenever he sneaks out, he brings me back a dead rat."

Sophie made a face at the thought of being brought home a dead rat by her pet. Sirius, on the other hand, seemed delighted at the prospect of Artemis killing rats.

"Perfect," Sirius smiled. "We'll take him."

"You'll take him?!"

"We'll take him?!" Sophie and the clerk both echoed, starring at Sirius. She looked down at Artemis in surprise. Artemis, for his part, seemed content with the idea of going to Hogwarts with Sophie. He had settled into Sophie's arms and allowed her to pet his back.

The relieved clerk showed them around the store, occasionally handing Sirius items needed for a cat.

Sirius was rather merry as they walked back to the Leaky, whistling the tune of a popular Rampaging Hippogriff song. As suspected, Sirius hadn't consulted James about getting Sophie a cat until they had returned to the Leaky Cauldron with Artemis in hand. James sighed upon seeing them. "You could have given me some warning. Sophie, why don't you go wash up before supper?"

Sophie nodded, rushing upstairs to bring Artemis to the room she was sharing with her brother.

Harry was nowhere to be found, but Sophie was hardly surprised. He was inseparable from his two best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, and was probably in one of their rooms. She washed up, and let Artemis out of his carrier to settle into their temporary home before joining the rest in the pub downstairs.

Supper turned out to be a rather chaotic affair.

Ron had written that his family would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron the last few days of the holidays to pick up school supplies and had invited Harry to go with them. Her dad had decided that they'd all join as they needed to pick up a few last minute things anyway.

So the Potters joined the Weasleys and the Grangers for supper at the Leaky. The hostess had to help them push four tables together for everyone to fit comfortably. Hermione's parents seemed a bit perplexed as they tried to engage in the conversation around them. None of the adults really knew how to speak with them. James, Sirius and Mr and Mrs Weasley were all pure-bloods and had no knowledge of the muggle world. James told the one story he had about the time he attended his sister-in-law's muggle wedding. Sophie had to hide a smile; she had heard the story many times and knew her dad had filtered most of it out.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were all clustered together, with Ron's twin brothers joining in on their conversation. Sophie was left to try to force conversation with Ginny. Despite Ron's complaints that Ginny normally never shut up, the older girl barely spoke a word. Sophie soon gave up and joined Sirius instead.

Sophie carefully packed all her purchases into her trunk later that evening. She must have packed and repacked several times over the summer, excited at the prospect of finally going to Hogwarts. Of course, within days she'd remember she had packed something she wanted to use or clothing she still wanted to wear and the contents of the trunk would end up everywhere. Artemis' ears perked up as the doorknob twisted. He leapt off her bed and dashed between Harry's legs before Harry could react.

"Sorry! I forgot you had him."

"It's okay," Sophie sighed. She had to chase him earlier for the same reason.

Sophie ran out into the corridor, looking for her cat. "Artemis?" she whispered. "Here kitty."

Maybe she should just let him wander, the shop clerk said he'd come back in the morning anyway. Sophie made a face; she really hoped he didn't bring her a prize.

Sophie was halfway down the stairs when she heard a pair of hushed voices in the hallway downstairs. She froze in her tracks when she noticed one of them was Sirius. Not wanting to be caught out of bed, she paused in her steps, ducking to hide behind the banisters in the dark stairwell.

"James," she overheard Sirius. He sounded so hesitant, so forlorn. Whatever he was telling her Dad, it looked to be bad news. "The ministry's making budget cuts in the departments, I'm so sorry – they're going to close the Peter Pettigrew case."

"No!" Sophie had rarely heard her dad so angry. His fist hit the wall and Sophie jumped in surprise. "Damnit."

"It's been seven years." Sirius whispered. "I haven't had any leads since he disappeared. Amelia said Fudge wants to close all the old death eater files and declare it wrapped up to the public."

Sophie was a bit surprised at the language James used to describe the ministry. Sirius laughed darkly, as if in agreement. She felt a chill go up her spine at the sound.

"Would it be too much to hope he died in a sewer?" Sophie shivered at the hatred in her dad's voice. She wondered just who Peter Pettigrew was and what he had done. Sirius was an auror who spent most of his time catching dark wizards and tracking down old death eaters. If he was after Pettigrew, than he must have done something bad.

"I hope the stupid rat bastard did too."

Secretly, she decided that she hoped so too. If she were honest, Sophie was petrified of dark wizards coming after her and her family. Her brother had been named the boy-who-lived when she was four and their family had been a target for a lot of angry death eaters up until she was around six. By then, most of them were dead or in the wizards' prison. The news that there were still some out there, being able to walk free was terrifying.

"Sophie?" Sophie jumped, startled out of her thoughts. Sirius was standing in front of her on the stairwell. "I thought you were in your room."

"I was just looking for Artemis."

Sirius sat down next to her on one of the steps and wrapped an arm around her. Sophie leaned into him and let him rest his chin on top of her head. "I wish you hadn't overheard that. But since you did – is there anything you'd like to know?"

Sirius probably sugar-coated a lot of what he told her, but Sophie knew he'd be honest with her.

"This Peter Pettigrew, he was one of You-Know-Who's supporters? And he's still out there?"

Sirius seemed in thought before he nodded. "But you don't have to worry about him, Love. Leave that to me."

Sophie didn't mention that Pettigrew's case was being closed and would be left to nobody. She had to trust that if he ever resurfaced, Sirius would put him in Azkaban so he couldn't hurt anyone else. "Is he dangerous?"

"Yes, but I'll never let him near you." She could feel Sirius' arm tighten protectively around her. "Now, I imagine you have a long day tomorrow, so why don't you try to get some sleep?"

He stood up and offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet.

"G'night Siri." She said, using the old childish nickname they used to call him.

"Good night, Princess."


	2. Astoria Greengrass

My Brother's Keeper

by ChatterChick

A/N Thank you for all the favourites and alerts! Please enjoy this next chapter... and maybe review?

_Chapter 2: Astoria Greengrass_

The four tables were still pushed together when Sophie came downstairs for breakfast the next morning. It was less cramped as everyone flowed in at their own pace. Sophie was a bit late, wanting to be dressed and set to go immediately after they finished eating.

Sirius was there, lazily flipping through the Daily Prophet. Harry and Ron were at the end of the table, scrambling trying to add an extra 5 inches to their forgotten potions essays. The Weasley twins were across from them, heads down and speaking about something or other. Sophie still didn't really know them, although she was wary of them after all the stories her brother had told.

"Good morning Sophie," Percy greeted as she flipped through the breakfast menu. Sophie had always felt a little intimidated by Percy. He was much older than her and seemed closer to the adults than his fellow siblings. "Excited?"

"Yes, I've been waiting to go ever since Harry left," she truthfully replied.

She tapped her wand against her order on the menu, like James had instructed her to do the day before when she finally had her wand. Normally, she would have had to wait for someone to order for her, or the waitress to appear. A plate loaded with toast, sausage, eggs and fried tomatoes appeared in front of her with a glass of pumpkin juice. She felt satisified, and a bit grown up, to be able to order her own meal.

"Ginny was the same. Have you given any thought to your sorting tonight?" He politely asked.

"I'd like to be in Gryffindor, my whole family's been there," Sophie started. "But it's hard to imagine what the sorting hat would think of me."

"If you don't get Gryffindor, I think Ravenclaw would be a good match for you, you seem very intelligent for your age and much more mature than most of your year mates will probably be."

Sophie beamed at the praise. Her father had always said she was more mature than her brother, and much less likely to make his hair go grey. Harry had a knack for finding the worst sorts of trouble at Hogwarts. Last year, James had threatened to pull Harry from Hogwarts and send them both to Beauxbatons this year. His friend, Remus Lupin, had reasoned with him over the summer and James had changed his mind.

Everyone quickly dispersed near ten o'clock. Harry and the various Weasley brothers were all trying to pack last minute items. There was a bit of a misunderstanding between Ron and Hermione upstairs, and Sophie could hear their raised voices from the pub. Mr Weasley had gone to check if the cars had arrived yet; they had ordered four cars from Mad Cabs to take them to Kings Cross.

Despite being one of the first ones ready to go, Sophie was the last to actually leave the Leaky. The Weasleys and Grangers had already gone ahead, but Sophie had to wait for her brother's last minute scrambling.

"Dad, we need to _go_!" Sophie urged. She wanted to be on time and not rushing at the last minute like they usually were. "Can't Sirius just apparate them when they're done?"

"Relax," James said, looking at his wrist watch. "We'll be on time. If not, I'm sure Sirius would be willing to give you a grand entrance on a flying motorcycle."

Sophie was rather mortified by the thought.

Luckily Harry and Sirius choose that moment to appear. Harry's hair looked even more rumpled than before, and Sophie was grateful that her hair was much tamer. While Harry looked like James, Sophie looked more like their mum. The only noticeable difference was that Sophie's hair was a dark brown while Lily's had been a beautiful auburn colour. Harry and Sophie both had inherited their mum's eyes.

The cab ride to the train station was fairly quiet. While James was trying his best to hide it, Sophie knew he wasn't entirely happy about their departure. Sirius seemed to pick up on James' disquiet and tried to lighten the mood.

"Eleven's a good age to send them away," Sirius sagely informed James. "They stop being cute and start talking back around then."

Sophie stuck out her tongue at him.

"See?" Sirius squeezed an arm around Sophie. "Let the McGonagall deal with _that_."

They arrived at King's Cross in good time, and found the Weasleys on the platform. The Grangers had already left, having said goodbye to Hermione before she crossed the barrier.

James motioned her away from the rest of the group. "I have a gift for you."

He pulled out a faded piece of parchment from his cloak pocket. When Harry had left for Hogwarts, their dad had given him a family heirloom, the invisibility cloak. Sophie inspected the proffered item. It was yellowed and crinkled with age, but otherwise blank.

"It's a piece of parchment," she told him.

"It's not just a piece of parchment, let me show you. I solemnly swear I am up to no good," James tapped his wand against it. Immediately, it came to life, blank lines stretching out from where his wand had tapped. They twisted and turned until it formed a map. A few black dots roamed the map and upon closer inspection, Sophie realized they had tiny letters next to them. _M McGonagall _and _A Dumbledore _were together in a large rectangular room that was labelled as The Great Hall.

"It's a map of Hogwarts!"

James grinned fondly at the map. "Did more to keep Sirius and I out of trouble than Remus ever could. Although I imagine you wouldn't use it for any wrong-doing. This is Sophie Lily Potter," James spoke to the map. "You'll be good to her."

_Mr Prongs is delighted to meet Ms Sophie Lily Potter._

_Mr Padfoot offers his compliments to the lovely Ms Potter._

"Who are they?" Sophie giggled as the writing continued.

"One of the great mysteries of our world." James ruffled her hair. "Don't listen to them too much, they like a joke and will lead you into trouble. Mischief Managed." James said and the map faded away, leaving the parchment bank once more. "Don't forget to wipe it blank or anyone can use it. And try not to let Snape catch you with it," he cautioned, and then added as an afterthought, "Or McGonagall or Flitch."

James and Sirius lifted the trunks into the storage compartment below the train. Sirius had reassured her that she wouldn't have to worry about getting it later; the house-elves would apparate it to her new dormitory. Sophie was soon caught up in the familiar whirlwind of hugs and goodbyes before she boarded the train. Although this time, she was hugging her dad and Sirius goodbye rather than her brother.

"You'll owl us," James was saying, "at least once a week. We'd prefer twice – "

Sirius wrestled her out of James' grip. "My turn," he smiled broadly. "Have fun, owl as often as you can and we'll see you at Christmas! Love you, Princess!"

He cupped her cheeks in his hands before kissing her forehead goodbye. The whistle blew, signalling a warning that it would be leaving soon. James hugged her one last time before sending her off with Harry. Sophie waved to them as she boarded the train. James were looking a bit misty-eyed so she hastily retreated, not liking the idea of seeing him cry.

Harry disappeared once making sure Sophie would be alright on her own. She waved him off, knowing he probably didn't want to tote his little sister around. She was curious to meet some of the other first years anyway. She knew Elliott Longbottom and Myron McKinnon of course; their families had been friends for years. She had very few girl friends and was eager to finally be able to befriend girls her own age. Both her father and her brother met their best friend on the Hogwarts express. Maybe she'd meet hers too.

She glanced into some of the apartments, but most of them seemed much older than her. A group of Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, more Hufflepuffs some Slytherins – where were all the first years? She decided she'd try to find Elliott and Myron first and then maybe after lunch they could brave the other compartments and meet people.

She reached out to open the sliding door that separated the various train compartments. The door slid by itself and Sophie wondered if it was charmed to do that. She nearly jumped when she found herself face to face with another girl.

"Hullo." The girl brightly greeted once the surprise wore off. She had light brown hair that was neatly arranged in a braided twist. The girl's cobalt blue eyes trailed down her robes. "You're a first year too!"

Sophie noticed that the other girl was wearing the standard black robes devoid of any colours that marked the unsorted first years. "Hi – yes, I am."

"Were you looking for an empty compartment?"

"I was looking for my friends – do you have anyone to sit with?" Sophie quickly amended when the other girl's face dropped a bit.

"Well, not exactly. I have a sister in third year, but she told me to go and 'make friends'." She smiled sadly. "So here I am."

"Would you like to sit with us?"

"I would like that, I'm Astoria, by the way."

"Sophie."

"So, how was your summer?" Astoria asked.

"Fine, my family are nuts for Quidditch, so we went to the Europe Cup in Germany," she replied. "How were yours, Astoria?"

"Oh, they were nice; we went to Cyprus for some of it."

Students were running up and down the length of the train, excited to see old friends after the summer apart. The girls squeezed to the side to get out of the way as a boy sped past them. "Oh _honestly_," Sophie scoffed.

Finally, Sophie knocked on a compartment door and was greeted by a familiar face.

"Sophie! About time you got here," the dark-skinned youth greeted her.

A round-faced boy with brown hair and brown eyes smiled shyly at Astoria. "Hi, I'm Elliott, and that's Myron."

"I'm Astoria. Sophie invited me to sit with you, if that's okay?"

"Of course!"

There were a few polite questions as they tried to include Astoria in their usual banter.

"How do you all know each other?" Astoria asked.

"Our parents were friends." Sophie slowly said, sharing a glance with Elliott and Myron. Between the three of them, only two parents still remained. Myron's dad had been killed in the war. Elliott and Neville lived with their grandmother after their parents were committed to St. Mungo's. They never talked about their parents. Sophie once asked James why the Longbottoms were in the hospital and he would only tell her they had been seriously injured.

Myron cheerfully agreed. "We grew up together. We're practically family!"

Astoria smiled with some understanding. "I have a few cousins, although they're mostly older than me. Laelia missed the cut-off date by two weeks."

Myron pulled out a deck of exploding snap and the four spent the better half of the train ride speculating about Hogwarts and sharing what their older siblings had told them. Sophie exercised a healthy skepticism when Myron shared how his cousin had said Gryffindor tower was guarded by a three-headed dog and that you needed to pet him in the secret spot to get into the common room.

"Harry said – "

"Wait, your brother's _Harry_ – and he's a third year?" Astoria interrupted. "Is he Harry Potter?"

Sophie could already see the amused grin stretching across Myron's face. She hated when this happened, although she knew Astoria would find out anyway. "Er, yeah."

"That's so wicked. I've heard about him, I mean, _obviously_ the whole wizarding world has, but some other things from my sister. Like how he found defeated Slytherin's monster in the chamber of secrets?"

Astoria looked impressed when Sophie nodded, confirming the rumour.

Myron laughed. "I overheard Mr Potter lecturing him not to go looking for trouble this year. Then Harry goes, 'I don't go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds me.'"

Sophie smiled despite herself. James had lectured them both about staying out of trouble. Sophie thought that was a bit rich of him, especially considering the stories he used to share about all the trouble he got into with Sirius. Although, she supposed it wasn't like they had smuggled dragons out the castle or fought monsters in the legendary Chamber of Secrets.

"_For the love of Helga,_" her father had said countless times, "_I hope you don't find _half_ as much trouble as your brother._"

Sirius would just laugh and remind him who Harry took after.

"_This is my _good_ child,_" James would stress,"_the one who takes after Lily._"

Since the four of them were already dressed in their black robes, they didn't have to leave to change. There was a shuffle as they straightened their rumpled robes, adjusted their ties and smoothed their hair. However, they would soon be soaked if the weather was any indication. During the journey to Hogwarts, the clouds had gotten darker and rain began pouring down. They put their cloaks on and pulled their hoods up over their heads, hopeful that it would keep out the worst of the rain.

The train slowed as it approached Hogsmeade station. Students started filling the corridors as the exited the train. The group separated from the much taller upper years, although none were quite as tall as the friendly half-giant who was gathering the first years. He towered over the lot of them and was quite easy to make out in the crowd, even without his booming voice.

"First years!" Hagrid called out. "First years, this way!"

"Hullo Sophie and Elliott," Hagrid greeted them. "Hullo Myron."

Astoria fearfully looked up at Hagrid. "He's bigger than I expected."

"Friendlier too, I'd reckon," Myron loyally defended him.

The four of them shared a boat and when all of the first years were situated, the boats took off at once. It was a rather miserable affair to get to the castle, the winds were strong and the rain was freezing. Fortunately, none of the boats capsized on the way over.

They huddled together once they finally made it inside, trying to ring out robes and hair, and appear somewhat presentable. Sophie thought it was rather hopeless, as they would all appear before the school looking like a colony of drenched rats. One of the girls near them knew a drying charm, so at least they wouldn't have to spend the feast in wet robes.

Professor Flitwick greeted them at the castle with a speech about the four houses of Hogwarts that they would soon be sorted into. Some of the students listened attentively, although most were whispering amongst themselves, passing along the incantation of the drying charm.

"Line up, please!" Flitwick bobbed around the first years, ushering them into pairs of two. Then, the giant doors swung open and they hurriedly followed him inside. Elliott and Myron were in front of her, while Astoria walked by her side. She could see Astoria timidly wave at someone on the left side of the hall, mostly likely her sister.

A stool was step up in the middle of the aisle, with the ancient Hogwarts sorting hat sitting on top of it. It burst into a song about the four houses and the different traits each looked for. Sophie was grateful James had told her what to expect during the sorting, she couldn't imagine how nervous she would be otherwise.

Professor Flitwick had the list of names and began reading them as soon as the sorting hat had gone quiet. "Abberley, Erin!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table to their left jumped to their feet, applauding their first new member. Professor Flitwick himself smiled warmly, crumbling the list as he applauded. He allowed the cheers from the Ravenclaw house to die down before reading the next name off his list.

"Belby, Lyssa!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

The table at the far left erupted into cheers. Lyssa Belby looked nervously at the table that was cheering for her, and shakily returned the hat to Flitwick. Sophie felt bad for her, wondering if she was scared of what awaited her in the house with the darkest reputation.

"Bell, Allison!"

Allison Bell sat on the stool for a full minute before the sorting hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" making her the first to join the table on the far right, coloured in red and gold. They made a ruckus as they cheered for her. Fred and George Weasley forced her to give them high-fives on her way past them.

As more names were called out, Sophie tried to stop herself from longingly looking at the Gryffindors. Almost everyone she knew was in that house.

"Greengrass, Astoria!"

Astoria squeezed Sophie's hand before she approached the front of the aisle and Flitwick had dropped the hat over her head. The brim fell past Astoria's eyes. Sophie wondered if Astoria would be sorted into Gryffindor. When they had all expressed their desire for their houses on the train, Astoria had only smiled and said she wasn't sure where she wanted to be.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Sophie felt a surge of disappointment as her friend from the train joined the Slytherin table. Astoria seemed fun, and she would have liked the chance to become friends.

"Hall, Colleen!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Hughes" …, "Inglebee" …, "King" …, "Lafarge"…, "Ledas"…, "Llewllyn"…, and then a name she recognized.

"Longbottom, Elliott!"

Sophie watched as her childhood friend walked up to the front. She crossed her fingers that he'd end up in Gryffindor like he wanted.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry and Neville both looked happy as they jumped to their feet and cheered for Elliott. It wasn't long after he was joined by Myron.

"Odgen, Liam!"and "Oldfield Rufus!" were proclaimed Hufflepuffs. A "O'Neil, Luke!" joined Elliott and Myron in Gryffindor. They couldn't be far off from her sorting now. "Peasegood"…, "Penrose"…, "Pfeffer"….

"Potter, Sophie!"

Sophie tried to smile as she approached the front of the line. A few whispers had broken out, although she had adjusted to her family's fame years before. Flitwick dropped the sorting hat over her head and the Great Hall disappeared from her view.

"_Well, what have we here_?" A voice sounded within her head. Sophie's heart pounded in her chest, realizing this was the moment the hat would decide her fate. She hadn't been nervous until the hat had dropped over her eyes, leaving her in darkness with a voice inside her head, who suddenly knew all of her hidden thoughts, desires and dreams.

"_Courageous and loyal, certainly, those values run deep in your family. A rather curious mind there, a desire for popularity and a thirst to prove yourself, to step out of your famous brother's shadow, and I know just the place – "_

Sophie felt her heart drop the second she realized where the hat was planning to sort her. It couldn't mean to place her in –

"SLYTHERIN!"


	3. Silver Serpents

My Brother's Keeper

by ChatterChick

_Chapter 3: Silver Serpents_

Sophie felt as if she were in a daze as her feet led her to the Slytherin table. She glanced back at her brother's house. Ron's mouth had fallen open and Harry was trying to cover up his own look of shock.

The Slytherin house had jumped to its feet in applause. Students eagerly shook her hand as she walked by them. "Welcome to Slytherin, Ms Potter!" she heard as she made her way to the end of the table where the rest of the first years had gathered.

"Here, Sophie," Astoria slide over to make room for Sophie to join her at the table. "I'm so glad we'll be together!"

"Y-yeah," Sophie shakily agreed.

Sophie had barely taken her seat when the Slytherin house burst into another round of applause. A girl with silky blonde hair was making her way over to their table. She sat across from Sophie and Astoria.

Sophie glanced back towards the sorting where another girl was joining the cheering Ravenclaws.

There still remained a few students left to be sorted. "Sekelsky" …, "Selwyn"…, "Summers"…, – then finally, the sorting ended with "Vane, Romilda!" who was sorted into Gryffindor. Sophie didn't even bother to watch the girl join the house that she should have been in.

Professor Dumbledore rose to welcome the students and gave a few odd words before letting them eat. Various conversations among the newly sorted Slytherins broke out. Astoria joined some of the others in friendly introductions, but Sophie still felt a little bewildered by the sorting.

She half-heartedly began filling her plate with food, although her appetite had vanished.

"I wonder who the new Defence professor is," the blonde girl across from her wondered aloud.

Harry and Ron hadn't known who would take the post after Lockhart became 'ill-disposed'. The textbook on their class list had given no clue either; it was the standard textbook that most defence professors recommended. Curious, Sophie glanced at the staff table to see who would be taking the new position. Her eyes met the friendly, tawny ones of her uncle and former tutor, Remus Lupin.

_Remus_ was teaching? How long had he known? And he hadn't said a word all summer? Suddenly, Sophie felt her face burn. Remus had been at the staff table to witness her humiliation in front of the entire school.

"That's Remus Lupin," Sophie found herself contributing at last. "He taught my brother and me before Hogwarts."

The girl looked impressed. "He tutored _Harry Potter_ in defence?"

"Well, not exactly. He taught us maths and history and writing." Sophie shrugged. "He's a really great teacher, I'm sure he'll be brilliant with Defence."

She wasn't sure if it was due to her foray into the discussion or the causal reference to her famous brother, but she caught the attention of the rest of the first years.

"That's promising," Astoria piped in. "Daphne said Professors Quirrell and Lockhart were both very knowledgeable, but neither could really get it across in a classroom."

Sophie wondered what her brother would say to Astoria's assessment of Lockhart being 'knowledgeable'.

The blonde-haired girl seemed interested in Sophie after that. She watched her over the course of supper and tried to prompt her into answering more questions. Astoria and the rest of the first years were much better conversationalists and Sophie wondered why the girl didn't join _them_.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Sophie said after a while. She supposed it was only polite to try to be nice to her new dormmates.

"Nephele," she airily responded.

It wasn't just Nephele who had tried to prompt Sophie into speaking. The female prefect kept trying to include Sophie into the conversations, asking her opinion on various things or what she had heard so far.

Sophie was relieved once Dumbledore stood up to indicate that the feast was ending. There was a few announcements regarding Quidditch try-outs, new rules and the new professors. The applause she gave for Remus was the most enthusiasm Sophie could muster since being sorted in Slytherin. She was happy to see he received a good welcome. He looked right among the rest of the Hogwarts professors, dressed in brilliant midnight blue robes with silver embroidery.

Hagrid's introduction as the new Care of Magical Creatures professor had received a less enthused one, with only the Gryffindors and a few Hufflepuffs making much noise. Sophie joined in the applause, earning a few odd looks from the upper year Slytherins.

The female prefect, with her male counterpart, appeared at the end of their table once everyone began standing and clearing out of the hall.

She smiled at them, and introduced herself once more. "I'm Fiona Greystone, one of your prefects. This is Jason Greengrass, your other prefect. We'll be helping you while you adjust to Hogwarts, so don't be shy to ask us anything. Come along, we'll lead you back to the common room."

Sophie fell in step with Nephele on the way to the Slytherin common room. Astoria happily talked to the male prefect, who Sophie learned was her older brother, and made introductions.

"Monkshood." Jason said to the stone wall. A giant wood door appeared which he opened and allowed the first years through. "The password changes every two weeks, the new one will be posted on the notice board the twenty-four hours before. Please do not give them out to friends in other houses."

Fiona continued, "Girls' rooms are in the passage on the left side, boys' rooms are in the passage on the right. Your trunks and things have been brought in from the train. Breakfast is served at seven-thirty in the Great Hall. We can all meet here in the common room so none of you get lost on the way there. Professor Snape, our Head of House, will give you your schedules in the morning."

The girls broke apart from the group, taking the passage to their new dormitory. A sign reading "First Year Girls" was on the first room.

"This is us," said one of the other girls. She opened the door and let out a startled gasp as Artemis dashed out of the room. "Merlin, someone's cat just escaped!"

"Just let him go," Sophie sighed. "He'll come back in the morning."

Each of the beds had one of their trunks at the end. Sophie found herself between one of the other girl's and Nephele's.

Sophie curled up in the bed and cried herself to sleep.

xXxXx

Sophie looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her school robes had gained the silver and green Slytherin crest over night and a house elf had laid out a selection of silver and green ties for her to choose from. The shops charmed the robes to reflect the house colour upon sorting and the former black lining had turned to emerald green. From now on, Sophie would be allowed to accessorize in neutral tones or emerald green and silver.

"The green and silver look well on you," Kitty kindly told her. "They bring out your eyes."

Sophie tried to give her new roommate a smile as she thanked her. She had found out in the bathroom this morning that her other roommates were Katharine Penrose and Lyssa Belby.

"Lyssa, are you done yet?" Nephele knocked on the bathroom door. "We're supposed to meet Fiona in ten minutes!"

It surprised Sophie how normal life in Slytherin was turning out to be. They were all still over-polite as they got to know each other and work out a routine in their shared washroom. They had shared stories about home while getting ready. Sophie had confessed that her Uncle bought her all red and gold notebooks and Lyssa shared that hers were all blue and bronze. Nephele had charmed them green and silver so no-one would know they didn't get placed in their first choice. Not that that wasn't obvious in Sophie's case.

They were not at all how Harry and Ron described the Slytherins in their year. Sophie still vowed to stay far away from the likes of Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy though. Slytherin had a bad reputation for a reason.

_"Hagrid says there isn't a wizard who went bad who wasn't a Slytherin." _She could remember her brother saying after his first year.

She wondered what her brother thought of her now. What her Dad and Sirius would think. While her dad had tried so hard not to prejudice them against any of the houses, she knew he didn't think much of Slytherin. And Sirius _hated_ the Slytherin house. He and Harry would trade stories about all the evil gits in it.

She wondered what her mum would have thought. Lily Potter had died the night the fatal killing curse rebounded off Harry and killed Voldemort. James had filled her head with stories about her mum growing up. He'd tell stories about her kindness, her cleverness, her courage. How Lily stood up against bullies and bigots in the wizarding world and how she died to save the people she loved.

She would probably be ashamed to have a daughter in Slytherin, Sophie miserably thought.

Finally, all five girls were assembled and ready to go to breakfast. The common room was much brighter in the morning. It was still eerie; the windows into the Blake Lake bathed the room in a greenish light. Large, suede emerald couches and armchairs were clustered into groups around the room. Along the walls were tables with cozy armchairs for students to do homework.

As promised, Fiona was waiting in one of the large green armchairs near the center of the room. The first year boys must have already left with Jason. Sophie vaguely remembered the way back to the Great Hall, but was grateful Fiona had shown them all the same. It was certainly better than trying to navigate it by themselves.

Fiona wished them well and then left them to join the rest of the fifth year Slytherins.

They were soon approached by none other than Severus Snape himself. Somehow, he looked worse in person than Sophie ever imagined. The greasy, unkempt black hair that hung limp to his shoulders. The large, hooked nose. The sallow, yellowish skin. For once, Harry and Ron were rather accurate in their descriptions.

"Belby, Greengrass, Penrose – " Professor Snape read as he handed out their schedules. His lips curled as he reached her name. Snape's hatred of her father and brother seemed to extend towards her as well. He'd probably have her expelled just for existing. "Potter, Rosier. I'll be holding a mandatory meeting for all Slytherins in the common room tonight at seven. Do not be late."

He left quickly after that to speak with the sixth years about their schedules.

Mathematics was first thing in morning. Sophie was hoping to sit with Myron and Elliott, but was forced to sit with Astoria and Nephele when the Gryffindors clustered together. Professor Tan gave them an hour long quiz to assess what everyone had already been taught. Sophie sighed as she filled out questions and basic computations. From what Harry had told her, most of the fall term would be review to make sure everyone was on the same page. Everyone had attended different primary schools or received different tutoring from their parents. There were a few wizarding primary schools, but it hadn't been safe for Harry to attend one until he was nine and by then there wasn't much point. Remus had tutored her family along with the Longbottoms and McKinnons since they were young anyway.

Maths was followed by a period of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Harry had said the previous two years hadn't been much good, but Sophie knew Remus would be the best Defence professor Hogwarts had ever had. Maybe he'd be good enough to outlast the jinx on the position.

"Welcome to Defence Against the Dark Arts." Remus greeted them. "I thought we'd begin today with a discussion about what are the Dark Arts and what we need defending against. Then we'll go over what we'll be looking at for the rest of the year. Can anyone tell me what we could need to depend ourselves against?"

"Curses," Myron volunteered.

"Some hexes and jinxes," a girl from Ravenclaw added.

"Thank you, Mr McKinnon and Ms – ?"

"Pfeffer."

"Five points to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Yes, the Dark Arts are largely a lot of unfriendly spells." Remus agreed. "Anything else?"

"Dark creatures," Lyssa's hand was raised this time. "Werewovles, vampires, trolls, banshees, - "

Remus nodded. "Excellent. Ms Belby, five points to Slytherin. Anything else?"

Sophie raised her hand this time. She remembered her trip to Knockturn Alley with Sirius. "Cursed objects?"

"Yes, thank you Ms Potter. Five points to Slytherin. I'd like you all to read the introduction in your textbook and then we'll move on to something a bit more interesting for today."

There was a large, rustling sound as the class pulled out their copies of _The Dark Forces_ and flipped to the introduction chapter. After twenty minutes, Remus told them to put their books away. He asked some volunteers to summarize what they had read, and lead a short discussion on what they would be doing for the fall term.

Remus smiled, "Now, I promised we'd do something more interesting, didn't I? I suspect some of you are ready to take a crack at magic, so I thought we'd begin with a basic shield charm today."

They spent the rest of the period practicing the incantation and wrist movements for a bubble shield charm. Remus walked around the room, poking at the shield bubbles produced. Most of them burst with a little probing or faded before he came around.

"I want to see those stronger by the end of the week. Class dismissed," he cheerfully announced near the end. Lowering his voice, he stopped by. "Sophie, a word?"

Sophie lowered her eyes and shook her head. She feared that a conversation with Remus would break her already shaky resolve and reduce her to tears. "I – I can't stay, I should get to my next class."

"Why don't you stop by my office tonight after supper?"

"We have a meeting after supper, Professor Snape – "

"Oh, alright," Remus sighed, letting her leave with Astoria, who had been waiting by the door for her.

They were just in time to their English lesson. Again, Sophie had to sit with the Slytherin girls as a Gryffindor girl with thick, curly black hair had taken the seat next to Elliott and Myron, and two others had taken the seats in front.

Elliott shot her an apologetic look. "Hey Sophie, I'll see you at lunch?"

She nodded, but her smile quickly vanished at the Gryffindor girl's glare. She hastily took her seat with Astoria before Professor Cornwall started roll call. The lesson passed quickly, with another brief introduction and outline of the term, and then Professor Cornwall asking them to write a paragraph about their previous schooling to hand in.

Before long, they were making their way back to the Great Hall for lunch. Sophie excused herself from the group, wanting the chance to speak to her brother. Some of the first year Gryffindors gave her a curious look as she followed them to their table. She smiled nervously at them before sitting down to join Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"There's the Dark Witch," Ron greeted. "Have they made you pass a blood purity test yet?"

Sophie didn't bother to tell him she'd fail it anyway. Half of her grandparents were muggle.

"Shut up Ronald," Hermione glared at him. To Sophie, she kindly said, "I'm sure not all of them are like Malfoy."

"The girls in my year seem nice," Sophie looked at her brother, who had so far remained silent. At least he hadn't said something cruel about her house yet. "Astoria's sister is in your year."

"Astoria?"

"Greengrass," she supplied.

"Greengrass is okay," Harry grudgingly agreed. "Just be careful around Malfoy."

Hermione directed the conversation after that, asking how classes were going and telling her about the new electives they had taken. They had just come from Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. Harry and Ron took great delight in telling her about how Malfoy insulted a Hippogriff and had to be taken to the hospital wing.

Sophie laughed with them. "He'll probably be impossible in the common room tonight. I bet by the time I hear it, Buckbeak would have tried to rip his arm off."

She still had yet to meet the infamous Malfoy, but from her brother's stories, she imagined he'd like to exaggerate and show off.

Hermione fretted. "I'm worried he'll try to get Hagrid in trouble over this."

"He'll probably owl his Daddy." Harry scowled.

Feeling a bit heartened, Sophie rejoined the girls in her year for their afternoon classes. They had Theory of Magic, Introduction to Muggle Culture and Transfiguration. Again, it was mostly the professors reading over the syllabus and talking about what they would cover during the term. McGonagall got them started with turning needles into matches. None of them had managed to transfigure their needle by the end of the period, although Sophie thought hers was looking a little thicker and duller.

"Can't believe we have homework on the first day," Nephele grumbled as she tossed herself on her bed. "I thought this was supposed to be review."

"This _is_ review," Lyssa replied. "Read the first chapter of Magical Theory, write twelve inches about our current knowledge of muggles and – "

"McGonagall gave us an essay for next week!"

Sophie realized why it seemed that Harry and Ron did nothing but homework and class. There didn't feel like much time to do anything else.

"Owl post," Astoria suddenly interrupted.

Astoria opened the window next to her four-poster bed and James' great horned owl, Rumplestiltskin, flew into the room. Sophie was surprised, she hadn't even written home yet. She was going to give a letter to Hedwig whenever Harry did.

"I don't have any owl treats," she apologized as she untied the scroll around Rump's left foot. Rump gave, in her opinion, a rather filthy look at that admission. "You'll have to go to the owlry if you want food."

Kitty offered him one of her owl's treats and stroked his neck, cooing at what a handsome owl he made. With Rumplestillskin content, Sophie returned her attention to the rolled parchment in hand. A pair of letters fell out as she unrolled it, one from her dad and one from Sirius. Apparently Remus had written after the sorting, worried about Sophie.

Her dad had written a good foot about how much he loved her, and he was proud of her and how Slytherin gained the best witch it could want. _Your house doesn't define you_, he had written._ Don't listen to your brother about all dark wizards coming from Slytherin._ _Gryffindor doesn't have the cleanest reputation either. _

She had wondered what he meant by that. If only he had listed a few evil Gryffindors that she could throw in Harry and Ron's faces. Even if they had been nice about her sorting at lunch, that didn't mean they had let up the jokes at Slytherin's expense.

Sirius' letter was much shorter, but it made her laugh as he listed off all the 'good' Slytherins he had known. His cousin Andromeda and his uncle Alphard were high on his list. A few other Hogwarts professors were mentioned. Her grandmother had even been a Slytherin.

Sophie smiled, feeling a bit lighter now that her family had responded. Maybe she could survive this house.

_A/N Thank you everyone for reading/reviewing/favouriting/following!_

_A new short notes, Nephele is pronounced "Neff-eh-elle"._

_I have made some changes regarding the cirriculum at Hogwarts. I could post a longer explanation if wanted, but the short answer is that I removed astronomy and history of magic, and had the first years take maths, english, muggle culture and wizarding society. MC and WS are the attempt to introduce muggle-borns to the magical world and half-bloods/pure-bloods to the muggle world._


	4. House Lines

My Brother's Keeper

By ChatterChick

_Chapter 4: House Lines_

Two weeks had passed before Sophie figured out how to proceed with her situation.

The sorting ceremony seemed definite, so she would have to be in Slytherin for the next seven years. That didn't mean she had to _be_ one of them. Surely other people had friends outside their house? She knew Harry's social circle was rather limited to just Gryffindor, but she could extend her own. She decided she could be nice without becoming best friends with any of her fellow Slytherins. The boys mostly kept to their own group, but it was harder to avoid her dormmates. Nephele seemed to spend most of her time alone anyway and Astoria had befriended Kitty fast enough.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Sophie said as she touched the map.

It had been dead useful so far. She wasn't allowed into the Gryffindor common room without the password and she was too proud to ask for it. So she contented herself with being able to magically show up where her friends were. She scanned the map, finding _H._ _Potter_, _R. Weasley _and _H. Granger_ together in the Gryffindor common room. _M. McKinnon _and_ E. Longbottom_ were upstairs in the first year boys' dormitory. Sophie sadly noted that outside of class and meals, they spent most of their time in Gryffindor. It was fine, however, because today she was looking for someone else.

_R. Vane_, _M. Eastchurch _and _N. Chambers_ were in the library. She grinned, _finally_.

She had learned the names of the three Gryffindor girls from her classes. Romilda Vane, Melissa Eastchurch and Nicole Chambers usually blocked her from sitting with Elliott and Myron in class or gave her odd looks whenever she sat with Harry for meals. She thought if they became friends, the girls wouldn't mind her so much.

She picked up her bag, charmed to hold all of her books while still being feather-light. She had Hermione to thank for that. No matter what homework the girls were working on, she should be able to join in.

She scanned the Slytherin common room, making sure it was clear. She had been very successful in avoiding most of the upper year Slytherins so far. Harry had made her promise to be careful, not wanting her to be in danger in her own common room and Sophie had heeded his advice.

She ran into Astoria and Kitty on her way out of the common room.

"Sophie!" Astoria greeted. "We were just on our way to the grounds. It's lovely outside, isn't it? Would you like to join us?"

Sophie had yet to be outside, and the windows in Slytherin didn't exactly show the weather. For a moment, Sophie nearly forgot her mission as she contemplated spending what surely would be one of the last warm days outside.

"Sorry, I was just heading to the library," Sophie politely responded.

Astoria sighed. "Nephele said the same thing. Well, you know where to find us if you'd like to take a break."

Nephele was certainly the most studious of their year. She always had her nose buried in a book. Most of the books Nephele read weren't related to class work at all, and Sophie wondered if the other girl was determined to read through the Hogwarts library before they finished school. Sophie had briefly entertained the thought of introducing her to Hermione, but then thought better of it.

She didn't think she could live in the same dorm if she learned Nephele or any of the other girls had a problem with muggle-borns. So far the topic of blood hadn't been breached. It was apparent that Nephele, Astoria and Kitty were all from wealthy, pure-blood families. Sometimes she wondered if they shared the views of the Malfoys and Blacks.

She liked Lyssa well enough. Lyssa was a half-blood and had thought she was destined for Ravenclaw. Sophie thought their similarities could allow them to be allies in Slytherin; Lyssa hadn't looked too pleased with her sorting either. Unfortunately, Lyssa spent most of her time with her friends in Ravenclaw. She seemed just as determined as Sophie to avoid actually being in Slytherin, although was much more successful in her attempts. Sophie was tempted to join her, but for now focussed her attentions on the Gryffindor house.

She found the girls in question and approached their table. The girls were giggling, their notes spread out so far untouched. The girls immediately stopped talking and starred at her.

"Yes, Potter?" Romilda Vane asked.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

The three girls giggled. "Why don't you go sit with some of your own sort, Potter?" Nicole Chambers sweetly asked. She indicated another table where Nephele was working on her own.

"I think she'd rather work in quiet – " Sophie tried to explain.

"Well, so would we." Vane announced. "This is the library, if you were looking to socialize, go back to your common room."

Sophie bravely plowed on. "I thought it might be nice to meet people outside of Slytherin, I brought my homework though. I need to get this done too."

"Well, we're not really interested in meeting people _inside_ Slytherin." Chambers snootily said.

A rather heavy-set boy with short brown hair and blue eyes appeared at the table, glowering at the girls. Sophie knew him from class, and sighed. It appeared Derek Goyle had appointed himself as her bodyguard. This only made the girls giggle more. "Is he your boyfriend, Potter?"

Sophie scowled, vowing to tell Elliott and Myron to watch out for those girls. She spun on her heels and left the library, the sound of laughter behind her.

To Sophie's dismay, Elliott and Myron continued to be friendly with Vane, Eastchurch and Chambers. Elliott had only said that they didn't want to make any waves. "Besides," he said at supper, "You're our friend. They'll warm up to you."

He invited Sophie to join them on the grounds the next day. The Gryffindor first years had plans to do homework outside and play a game of Quaffle. Their homework was swiftly abandoned, however, as everyone was tired after being cooped up inside doing homework the day before.

Sophie was put on Elliott's team, with Vane and Chambers. With Elliott guarding the three goalposts, the three girls played chaser, running back and forth, trying to score a goal on the opposing team.

"I'm open!" Sophie called as Vane was blocked by Myron.

Chambers threw the quaffle to Vane anyway. Myron easily intercepted the pass and scored on Elliott.

The girls giggled. "Sorry Eli!"

"You could have passed it to me," Sophie scowled. Her words fell on deaf ears as her teammates continued to ignore her.

The rest of the game went on in this fashion. Eventually the opposing team stopped guarding Sophie, aware that she rarely touched the quaffle unless she intercepted a pass.

Half-heartedly, Sophie slowed down, letting the game happen around her. It was clear that she was only here as Elliott's friend. Chambers finally directed a throw at her, but Sophie missed it as she hadn't been paying attention. Eastchurch picked it up behind her and raced towards the goalposts, throwing it to Myron on her way.

"You could at least _try_," said Chambers.

Sophie scowled, vowing to shut Chambers up. She caught the quaffle Elliott had tossed back onto the field, racing towards the goalposts, dodging Myron and the other two girls as she went. She had played this game often enough growing up with Harry and the McKinnons and knew she was fast on her feet. She feigned throwing the quaffle into the left hoop and then aimed it into the right the moment the keeper went left.

The girls remained impassive, as if Sophie hadn't just scored their first goal. The keeper picked up the quaffle, ready to toss it back into the game.

"I get it," Sophie finally snapped. "I really do."

She fled from the game, not even turning around to see if someone, _anyone_, had made a move to chase after her. There were no voices calling her back to the field. She held back tears as she made her way through the castle, not quite wanting to catch anyone's eye and burst into tears in front of them.

She stayed in her dorm room for the rest of the afternoon, feigning sleep whenever one of the other girls appeared. Her stomach rumbled, upset that Sophie had neglected it to hide in her room all day. But Sophie didn't have the courage to face everyone in the Great Hall again. She sniffed hopelessly. No wonder she was a Slytherin, she couldn't even face a couple of mean girls.

"Miss Potter?" A tiny, high-pitched voice squeaked.

Sophie looked at the foot of her bed to find a house-elf standing there holding a plate piled with sandwiches and a piece of chocolate cake. "Hello?"

The house-elf offered the plate to Sophie. "Daffy brought Miss Potter supper."

"Oh thank you, but I'm not hungry," she lied.

"Miss Potter must eat," insisted the little house-elf, "Miss Potter's friend was most concerned when Miss Potter did not come down for lunch or supper."

Sophie accepted the plate, and quickly finished her meal. Daffy quietly stood, waiting for her to finish. "Can Daffy get Miss Potter anything else?"

"No, thank you Daffy," she said as she handed the empty plate back to the elf.

"Daffy hopes Miss Potter feels better tomorrow." She kindly said, before apparating back to the kitchens.

It wasn't until after Daffy had vanished to the kitchens that Sophie wondered who had sent her in the first place. She had said Sophie's friend was worried. Maybe Elliott or Myron felt bad after she left the game near tears? She bitterly thought it would be nice to have _them_ hunt _her_ down for once.

Nephele came upstairs later, and gave Sophie a questioning glance. "You missed lunch."

"Yes."

"And you missed supper."

"I'm aware." Sophie duly remarked. She really didn't want to discuss this with her roommates.

Nephele hesitantly sat on her bed next to Sophie's. Her keen, grey eyes scanned Sophie's face. "And you've been crying. Are you alright?"

It seemed that that statement finally set Sophie off. She started opening crying now, her face buried in her hands. After a few seconds, Nephele sat on the bed next to her, silently stroking Sophie's hair.

"My friends and family – " Sophie cried. "They all left me once I was sorted in Slytherin. E-Elliott and Myron won't even stick up for me and I've known _them_ since we were babies!"

"If that's the type of friends you had, then they weren't very good ones."

"Don't say that!"

"Mother says if they're not blood, then they don't matter."

"I wouldn't expect anything else from _your_ family." Sophie snapped. Her eyes went wide for an instant as a heavy silence fell over them. Nephele looked surprised too, although she quickly hid it.

She rolled her eyes. "She doesn't mean pure-blood, she means your blood. Has your brother cast you aside?"

"Well, no."

"Has your father disowned you?"

"Of course not!"

"Then the people who matter don't care. The Gryffindors may mind that you're a Slytherin, but there's one house where that isn't an issue. And you happen to be in it." She pointedly said. "I think Astoria _wants_ to be your friend, if you hadn't noticed."

Sophie's cheeks heated. She had been turning down Astoria's offers all week. "I've been rather awful to her, haven't I?"

"Well, yes." Nephele agreed. "You and Lyssa have been sulking this entire time about being sorted into Slytherin when the rest of us have been nothing but patient."

"I take it your patience is wearing out." Sophie ventured. She wondered if Lyssa had been given a similar talk.

"After tonight it will." Nephele agreed. "Now come, I think Astoria and Kitty are in the common room."

Astoria looked pleased at the inclusion of Sophie and Nephele in the common room that evening. Sophie felt rather guilty at how she brushed her first real friend at Hogwarts aside the past few weeks. She said as much, but Astoria easily waved it off.

"Mum said you needed time to see who your real friends were." Astoria wisely said.

"You wrote your mum about me?"

Astoria blushed. "I tell my mum everything. You and Lyssa seemed so sad after your sorting, so I asked why. She said there's a lot of misconception in our world that Slytherin is full of dark witches and wizards. I thought if we gave you both some space you'd come to see that we're not like that."

Sophie hesitantly asked. "But some are, aren't they?"

Nephele rolled her eyes. "Some of them are twats, but not as many as you think. The other houses are just as bad, except maybe Hufflepuff."

"My dad said that too." Sophie ventured. "About the other houses."

Astoria nodded. "Yes, Mum said her friend Andromeda was most surprised when one of the Gryffindors went dark. He killed thirteen muggles with a single curse."

She should have been more surprised at the knowledge of a dark Gryffindor, but Sophie was more focused on another piece of surprising information.

"Your Mum is friends with Andromeda Tonks?" Sophie asked.

"Yes, she comes round for tea often. They shared a dorm when they were at Hogwarts, you know."

Sophie had known that her Aunt Andromeda had once been a Slytherin, but it was odd to imagine her as friends with some of the parents of her current classmates. She had thought Andromeda had given up all of her old life when she had married Ted Tonks.

"I didn't know your mother knew the Blacks."

Astoria laughed, "No, Mum once said she was too _nouveau riche_ for the comfort of the Blacks."

Sophie let the other girls dictate the conversation after that, tired of all the heavy talk for the day. Astoria seemed to sense it, and allowed Kitty to lead the way with some gossip about the wizarding world's effluent members. Kitty seemed delighted at the chance and offered a story about the Parkinsons' latest attempts to impress the Malfoys.

"I think they should be more worried about fixing a match for their oldest daughter, Rosie," Kitty remarked. "She's a fifth year and Victoria said she hasn't been on a single date yet."

"Oh, they have someone in mind." Astoria's eyes glittered with amusement. "Pansy has to be nice to Daphne and I because her family is trying to impress ours. Jason wouldn't like anyone, especially Pansy, to bully us."

Sophie felt awkward sitting in the common room. Despite being at Hogwarts for over two weeks, she had only ever passed through the common room on her way to and from the dorms. She shivered, the Slytherin common room felt cold despite the run of good weather. There were two roaring fireplaces, one on the left side of the common room and one on the right. When Sophie suggested they move closer to one, Astoria and Kitty delved into a lesson on the unwritten rules of the Slytherin common room.

Upper year students had priority over the more desirable seating in the common room while the younger years were left to arrange the leftover armchairs and couches in the middle of the common room. The fourth and fifth years generally took the couches near the left and right side fireplaces, respectively. The sixth and seventh years preferred the larger circle of armchairs and couches near the glass wall, looking into the depths of the Great Lake.

Astoria gestured to the tables and armchairs off to the side. "Daphne said anyone can use the tables to work."

"Although it's considered proper to give it up should an older student ask, especially an OWL or NEWT student," Kitty agreed.

Sophie didn't bother to comment that Draco Malfoy had taken control of the fourth year's fireplace. It was clear that wealth and connections still outranked age and seniority in Slytherin.

As time crept closer to curfew, more and more students came in from the castle and stayed in the common room. Sophie was surprised at how full the room had gotten, but Kitty mentioned that Slytherins liked the chance to socialize at the end of the day.

The door opened once more and Lyssa walked through.

"Lyssa, why don't you join us?" Astoria asked.

"Thanks, but I should really get started on the readings for potions." She said, before quickly departing for the girls' dormitory.

"I don't know why you bother." Nephele mumbled.

Astoria's bright blue eyes flickered to Sophie and then back to Nephele. "I thought, well, never mind that now. Lyssa just needs a bit more time."

The conversation came to a close quickly after that. Jason noticed them across the room and started to approach them.

Astoria frowned once she made eye content with him. "Oh, you're lucky your brother isn't in your common room. Jason and Daphne think this means they get to boss me around. I suppose we should – yes, we're _going_ – " She rolled her eyes at Jason.

The four girls gathered their things and went to bed.

_A/N Thank you everyone for reading/reviewing/favouriting/following! It always makes my day to see those._

_Sorry to everyone who was confused over Lily's absence before Chapter 3, I thought I alluded to her death better in Chapter 1. More details about that night will eventually be revealed, I promise._

_I hope you enjoyed the brief description of the Slytherin common room. I see Slytherin as a house that values tradition and hierarchy. Also, they're a bit like the Slug Club in that they value making connections within their house. You never know when a friendship might prove useful down the line ;)_


	5. Halloween Horrors

_My Brother's Keeper_

_By ChatterChick_

_A/N Thank you everyone who read/reviewed/favourited/followed! I really do appreciate those! I'd really like some more reviews, just for feedback on what people think so far. I have a chapter-by-chapter guide of what will happen up to the end of Goblet of Fire and usually have 2-3 chapters written in advance to posting. But I still have a lot of room to change things._

_Fair warning, I'm writing in limited third person perspective, so the story is filtered through Sophie's bias and what she perceives to be true. So there will be things that readers know by virtue of reading the series that Sophie doesn't at the moment. You'll see that more the next few chapters._

_There are also a few moments that appear similar to canon events. I tried to rework them as best as I could or gloss over them, but they still needed to happen. _

_Chapter 5: Halloween Horrors_

"Sophie, come in."

It was becoming a tradition to meet with Remus for tea on the weekends. He had tracked her down after her first week and ever since she had been joining him for Sunday tea. Sometimes Harry and his friends would join, but most often it was her and Remus. Today it was just Remus in his office, with two tea cups, a teapot and some biscuits spread out on his desk. Sophie guessed he wasn't expecting her brother this time.

"First Hogsmeade weekend," Remus explained. "I suppose I can forgive your brother and his friends for wanting to explore the village instead of having tea with their old professor."

"He could make up for it by bringing us something from Honeydukes," Sophie sweetly replied.

Having an older brother could be so unfair at times. Harry got to do everything exciting and she always had to wait. She knew if she expressed this thought, Remus would just tell her what James had been saying for years. You just have to wait until you're Harry's age.

Remus poured her a cup and made small chat, telling her about the grindylow in the tank and his plan for their next lesson. Sophie attempted to sweet-talk Remus into giving Chambers, Eastchurch and Vane a troll on their latest essay. It was all in good fun, she knew Remus was too honourable to give the girls a mark lower than they deserved.

"As a professor I'm supposed to remain impartial," Remus winked.

"Snape doesn't," Sophie argued.

Remus looked thoughtful for a moment. "I've been meaning to ask, how has Professor Snape been behaving towards you?"

He had remained cold and indifferent to her since her arrival at Hogwarts. This was a huge relief as she had expected him to be just as mean to her as he had been towards Harry. She supposed his hands were tied between wanting to favour his own house, and wanting to dock points from a Potter. Harry had once explained that Professor Snape had gone to school with James and Sirius and they _hated_ each other.

"He hates me, but not as much as Harry."

"Harry looks a lot like James," Remus smiled sadly. "And well, you take after Lily. I had thought – "

"Thought what?"

"That he might be more tolerable to someone who doesn't look so much like his old school rival, but I suppose the name Potter still counts against you."

Sophie absentmindedly fiddled with her wand; they were dancing dangerously close to a topic she was scared to breach. Halloween was the anniversary of her mum's death. She had been hoping to ask Remus about her, even had a nice segue, but Sophie lost the nerve. James, Sirius and Remus always got really sad around the anniversary. Most of the year, they would fondly remember Lily, but today seemed to be too hard for them. Luckily, Remus seemed to anticipate the conversation.

"I think we sometimes forget that the anniversary of Lily's death is hard on you too." Remus murmured. "You can talk about her, you know."

"I don't remember that day at all," Sophie confessed. She had a few, very vague memories of her mum. She had been four when Lily was killed and Harry declared the Boy-Who-Lived. She thought she'd remember such a big day, or even just parts of it. She couldn't though. She remembered the funeral and the aftermath, but not the day she lost her mum.

"I don't imagine you would," Remus fiddled with his cup. "You were very young, and very sick. James had taken you to St Mungos that day. Dragon Pox was usually fatal in small children back then, and he was worried they'd lose you."

"So if I hadn't been at the hospital, we would have been – " She thought it odd that she had never heard what had happened that day. She had never asked before, and no one else liked talking about it. She suspected Harry remembered it, but he grew dark whenever the day was mentioned and Sophie didn't think she had the heart to ask him.

"James wouldn't have been able to save your mum, Sophie." Remus gently interrupted. "If anything, you having dragon pox may have saved your lives because it meant you weren't home."

"We were in hiding though; did he find us because we left?" She imagined there were spies waiting to report the moment the Potters were seen. Perhaps James had apparated and someone with connections at the ministry was able to track it?

Remus shook his head. "No, it was just a coincidence."

They fell into an uneasy silence after that. There were a few attempts to change the subject to a cheerier topic. Remus asked if Sophie had ever plans to participate in the Halloween festivities taking place during the afternoon.

"Astoria signed us up for Flitwick's pumpkin carving, and then I wanted to take the Forbidden Forest Tour."

It was the one day students were actually allowed to venture into the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid took them in small groups along a path he and some of the ghosts had arranged.

Remus' eyes twinkled. "Yes, try not to get separated. I hear Hagrid's pets are more frightening than anything he could possibly set up with Sir Nicholas."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," Remus answered.

Professor Snape entered, carrying a goblet that was smoking slightly. His beady black eyes glanced from Remus to Sophie.

"Thank you Severus," said Remus, "Just put it on my desk."

Snape nodded. "I have made an entire cauldron, should you require more."

He put the goblet down before swiftly leaving. His black robes billowed behind him. Sophie relaxed, grateful that he hadn't stayed long.

"Are you well?" Sophie worried.

Poor Remus had been hit with a curse during the war that left his immune system rather weak. He was always catching every bug that went around. The small consolation was that there was a potion he could could take to help boost his immunity. Professor Snape must have taken charge of brewing it. Remus once explained that it was rather complicated and he was dismal at preparing potions himself.

"There is a small bug going around, but I should be fine." Remus reassured her. "Severus was kind to prepare the potion anyway; you know how it is this time of year."

Without fail, Remus was always sick at least once a month.

Sophie looked at the wet tea leaves at the bottom of her cup. It was also becoming tradition to come up with obscure predications with the tea leaves. At first, it was much to Harry's annoyance, but eventually he and Ron joined in. Week after week they would try to come up with the most ridiculous deaths. Sophie thought hers looked a bit like a deformed fish. "I'll be at risk of drowning in the lake."

Remus grinned as he looked at his own perfect circle. "I'll be given a concussion by a quaffle."

She departed shortly after, having agreed to join the other girls for pumpkin carving outside Hagrid's cabin. He had grown dozens of giant pumpkins and the students had signed up in teams to carve them for tonight's feast. There would be 50 house points awarded to the best design.

All around her, students were gathered in teams of four or five, around a pumpkin that was often as tall as they. It was mostly the first and second years who were unable to attend the Hogsmeade visit with the upper years. Lyssa had unofficially joined one of the Ravenclaw teams; her and three girls were working on trying to carve the Ravenclaw eagle. Elliott and Myron were joined by Chambers, Eastchurch and Vane as usual, although Sophie was amused to see that the three girls looked unimpressed by Myron's curving of an inferi.

Sophie found Astoria, Kitty and Nephele, who had waited for her to get there. Astoria was drawing sample designs on a piece of parchment, and there were a number to choose from.

Sophie vanished the pumpkin seeds after Kitty had removed the top, leaving the inside hollow. Astoria lightly indented lines into the pumpkin with the pocket knife Flitwick had provided, the pattern of a cat against a full moon emerged from her artwork.

"You'll want to carve the moon out," Sophie added. "So that the candlelight will shine through, and the cat will look dark against it."

Kitty smiled at the drawing. "This will look so pretty!"

Nephele skillfully twirled her wand, mumbling the incantation of a carving spell Professor Flitwick had taught them earlier in the week for this occasion.

Kitty suddenly burst out laughing and smiled brightly at all of them. "Sophie, you're so funny!"

Astoria joined in with her. Nephele only raised her eyebrows, not glancing up as she concentrated on her charmwork.

"Don't turn around." Kitty softly said. "But Chambers keeps looking at us."

Kitty and Astoria had done this often enough those first few weeks of September, even after Sophie stopped trying to befriend the Gryffindor girls. Every time the Gryffindors appeared, they laughed louder and smiled more. Despite the pair being glad that Sophie was now free to spend time with them, they went to great lengths to show the Gryffindors that they were missing out. Astoria had explained it as the enemy of my friend is my enemy.

"There," Nephele said as she put her wand away. "I think it looks good, doesn't it?"

Sophie lit the candle inside the pumpkin and the four girls admired their work. They carved their initials into the bottom with the small pocket knife before Flitwick came to levitate their pumpkin to the cluster of finished pumpkins.

They joined the small queue of students behind Hagrid's hut for the tour of the Forbidden Forest.

" – five, six, seven, eight." Remus counted, indicating Sophie, Astoria, Kitty and Nephele. "Come along, this way."

"Re – ah, Professor Lupin?" Sophie asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I offered to give Hagrid some help with the tour this year, I was pretty familiar with the forest in my day."

"What were you doing in the forest?" Astoria politely asked.

"Oh, it was a pretty popular detention," Remus mildly responded. "I was here often."

Sophie couldn't tell if he was pulling their legs or not. James and Sirius always said that Remus was their more responsible friend.

Sophie, Astoria and Kitty nervously clung together as different ghosts and creatures jumped out at them in the forest. Nephele seemed unfazed at the various charms set in place. Remus guided them through the tour, telling them myths of various creatures and dark wizards.

"The muggles would later call him Count Dracula, although they've convinced themselves these days that he's only fiction – "

_THUNK!_

The girls screamed and clung tightly together. Even Remus seemed startled, although he controlled his reaction much better.

"What was that?" Kitty asked.

"The Whomping Willow, it's a touch temperamental." Remus explained. "Sometimes a bird goes to rest and it'll shake it off."

Sophie spied a giant willow tree. Indeed, it seemed to shudder before returning to sleep with a large groan.

Remus glanced at his wristwatch. "I think that's all for our tour. The feast should start soon. Off you go!"

They were nearly late to the Halloween Feast, although still managed to make it just in time. It was the first Halloween Sophie remembered ever being bearable, even with the heavy conversation with Remus. Usually James took them to visit their Mum's grave in the morning. It was the day Lily's absence was most felt in the Potter home.

Long after the feast, Sophie was still awake, distracting herself by watching the little dots on her map. Most of the dots were concentrated in their dorm rooms for the moment, with a few in the common rooms. Sophie prided herself on knowing the names of all forty students in her year, having studied the map often enough and determining which were the first year dormitories in each hose. Although there were still a few names she had yet to connect with a face. She saw her own dot, _S. Potter_ along with _L. Belby_,_ A. Greengrass_,_ K. Penrose_,and_ N. Rosier _together in their dormitory. She was certain her roommates were all asleep, having closed their curtains some time ago. In the boys' dormitory were _D. Goyle, T. Lafarge, B. Manderly, J. Peasegood _and _Z. Selwyn_. The common room was empty, everyone had returned to their rooms after a long day of celebrations. She spied on the Gryffindor common room where her friends and brother were all in their dormitories as well.

She scanned the corridors, looking for what the professors were up to this evening. _A. Dumbledore _was pacing in an elaborate seven-point star pattern in his office. He did this most nights, and Sophie liked to assume he was pondering some great mystery of the universe. _M. McGonagall _and _F. Flitwick_ were stationary in their personal quarters on the seventh floor, possibly having gone to bed. She flipped through the pages, finding _R. Lupin_ in his office on the third floor. _P. Sprout _and_ C. Burbage _were together in Professor Burbage's office on the main floor. Sophie suspected they were friends because they spent many evenings together. _S. Snape_ was in the dungeons, most likely brewing potions without the bother of students.

Sophie frowned as she noticed another dot. _P. Pettigrew_ was near the kitchens.

The name looked oddly familiar, she tapped at the dot with her wand and the name extended. _Peter Pettigrew._

"_The ministry's making budget cuts in the departments, I'm so sorry – they're going to close the Peter Pettigrew case_." She remembered the short conversation she had overheard between Sirius and James, and then the following one when Sirius had caught her eavesdropping.

_"Is he dangerous?"_

_"Yes, but I'll never let him near you__."_

She needed to tell a professor before Pettigrew could hurt someone! She scanned the map again, Professors Burbage, Sprout and Snape were all too close to the kitchens, she worried she'd run into Pettigrew. But she just might be able to make it to Remus' office without any trouble. She had the map, and as long as she kept an eye on it, she should be able to get there.

She grabbed her map and her wand and crept out of her dormitory and out of the common room.

"_Lumos_," she murmured, illuminating the dark corridor in a soft glow.

She kept a close eye on her map, making sure her pathway was clear. She didn't mind running into a professor so much as running into Filch or Pettigrew. Finally, she made her way from the dungeons up to the third floor. Remus would be able to contact Sirius this late and he'd catch Pettigrew, Sophie was certain.

"Remus? Remus, I know you're in there!" She knocked on the door. When there was no answer, she had pulled out her map and tapped it, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

She quickly located herself standing in front of Remus' quarters, but the dot labelled _R. Lupin_ had disappeared off the map. She frantically searched the hallways, but those turned up empty too. She thought the professors lived at the school, although now she was having second thoughts. Maybe Remus flooed home to sleep?

Wearily, she made her way back down to the dungeons where her common room were kept. She studied the map, maybe there was a clear path to Professor Sprout or Professor Snape without running into Pettigrew. As she scanned the map, she noticed Snape was no longer in the dungeons.

In fact, the dot labelled _S. Snape_ was rapidly approaching her own dot. She hastily wiped the map blank before he rounded on her.

"10 points for wandering the halls past curfew, Miss Potter, you really are like your brother, aren't you?"

"Please Professor! It's Peter Pettigrew! He's at Hogwarts! _He's at Hogwarts_!"

Severus Snape coldly starred at her. "5 points from Slytherin for your dramatics, Potter. How are you so sure that Pettigrew is at Hogwarts?"

Sophie suspected Snape was willing to lose the House Cup after all, if it meant punishing her for every little thing. Still, this was more important and he had a duty to protect students from death eaters like Pettigrew. He could alert Professor Dumbledore and the ministry and they would catch Pettigrew.

"I – I saw him."

Snape towered over her, his eyes boring into hers. She flinched and looked at the ground. At long last he spoke. "Empty your pockets!"

"I beg your – "

With the snap of his wand, Snape turned Sophie's pockets inside out. She hadn't had much, a few wrappers, a hair tie, her wand and the blank map. They all fell to the ground and she quickly tried to pick them up. Snape allowed her to keep her wand, although took her map. Her heart lurched, her dad said not to let the professors see it.

"Reveal your secrets!" He said to the map. "Show yourself!"

The map remained otherwise blank. "It's just some spare parchment," Sophie lamely protested.

He ignored it as he poked the map with his own wand. Sophie held her breath. "Professor Snape, Potions Master of this school, demands that you yield whatever secrets you hold."

To Sophie's horror, black lines slowly formed; although this time they took the shape of words.

_Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business._

Snape froze. If she had been in any other company, Sophie might have laughed. Misters Mooney, Padfoot and Prongs had entertained her many evenings with their witty comments. This time, she starred in silent horror at the map. _Please stop! _She thought. Unfortunately, Mr Prongs and Mr Padfoot had more to say on the matter.

_Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git._

_Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor._

Professor Snape looked ready to murder her on the spot. "Go back to your common room." He slowly said, thrusting the map at her.

"Professor – "

"1 point. Go back to your common room, _now_."

She decided arguing with him would be a wasted effort. Once morning arrived, she would go to the owlry and write Sirius. He was going to flip when he learned that Snape hadn't listened to the threat of a death eater in the castle.

_A/N I would like to imagine Sophie telling Snape, "Wait until my father hears about this!", but thought she would be a little more discrete. _


	6. Crackdown

_My Brother's Keeper_

_By ChatterChick_

_A/N As always, thank you everyone who read/reviewed/favourited/followed! I'd appreciate any feedback you can give me._

_I just wrote the epilogue and started thinking about how the story would end if continued to Deathly Hallows and I'm pretty excited about where it could go. That's quite a ways off though _

_There is a minor explanation at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!_

_Chapter 6: Crackdown _

Sophie never got to owl Sirius the next morning.

When the first year girls emerged from their dormitory to go upstairs to breakfast, they were met with a commotion in the common room. Most of the students were awake and standing around the room. Sophie glanced around and could hear bits and pieces of the conversation.

"Wait until my father hears – "

"Especially after that nonsense with the Chamber last year – "

Jason Greengrass approached them when he noticed them standing in the common room.

"Jason, what's going on?" Astoria asked.

"The common room door has locked us in, no one knows why." He told them. "I'm sure Professor Snape will be here shortly to explain what's going on."

Sure enough, at half past seven, Professor Snape came billowing into the common room, black robes flapping behind him. A hush fell over the entire room as the students waited for their head of house to explain why he had locked them inside. Snape's eyes scanned the room, briefly resting on her for a second before he took them away.

"Last night Hogwarts had an intruder," he became as explanation. "Peter Pettigrew, a known Death Eater, was seen inside Hogwarts."

There were a few gasps and a hushed whisper broke out.

"Silence." Professor Snape demanded, before continuing. "The ministry has sent aurors to search the school grounds. In the meantime, you will remain in your common room. Class has been cancelled. Meals will be sent from the kitchens at the appropriate time. I suggest you use this time to catch up on whatever homework you neglected due to yesterday's celebrations."

With a grand sweep of his hand, plates loaded with breakfast appeared on the many desks and tables scattered throughout the common room. A table near the back had pitchers of pumpkin juice and hot water for tea.

"Miss Potter," Professor Snape's eyes fell on her again. "The Headmaster would like a word."

A hush whisper broke out once again.

"Yeah, that's her – "

"Harry Potter's little sister – "

"Pettigrew's probably after – "

She quickly followed Snape out of the common room, leaving the whispers behind.

The headmaster's office, as it turned out, was in one of the towers located on the seventh floor on the other side of the castle. It was a long walk accompanied by Snape's stony silence and her own wandering thoughts. Professor Snape had barely said a single word to her, silencing any attempts to learn what had happened the night before. Sophie snuck a glance at him. He looked tired, his eyes red rimmed and full of blood vessels. He must have been up all night with Professor Dumbledore and the ministry.

"Turtle truffles," Snape snapped at the gargoyles.

They sprung to life, revealing the spiral staircase they were guarding. Sophie followed Snape up the stairs. Inside the office was Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Percy Weasley, and Penelope Clearwater along Minister Fudge, Mr Scrimgeour and –

"Dad, Sirius, what are you doing h –"

James was hugging her before she could get the rest of the words out. "Oh Sophie. Thank Godric you're all right!"

"I'm fine!" Sophie's voice was muffled as she tried to reassure him.

"Professor Snape owled last night saying you had an encounter with Pettigrew." James explained. He held her at arm's length, inspecting her. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you? I can't _believe_ no one thought to take you to the hospital wing."

At this, James levelled a glare at Snape. Sophie shuffled, and James let her go, although he still kept a hand on her shoulder.

"Ms Potter appeared to have been fine." Snape dismissed.

"Not all curses leave marks, as I'm sure you well know!" James thundered.

Sophie flushed when she realized that everyone thought that she had been attacked the night before. "Dad, I'm fine, _really_. I didn't run into Pettigrew," at this, Mr Scrimgeour and Mr Fudge both bristled. "I – I saw him on the map."

James and Sirius shared a look.

"Are you sure, love?"

She nodded, at this she withdrew the map from her pocket and gave it back to James. He immediately passed it to Sirius who pocketed it.

"What map?" Mr Scrimgeour asked.

"James and I made a map well we were in Hogwarts," Sirius explained. "It shows every magical person on the grounds. It's very accurate."

Sophie was surprised. She wondered which of Moony, Padfoot and Prongs her dad and Sirius were. She wondered who the other map-maker was. Perhaps Remus or her mum?

James frowned, "But it's not perfect. It doesn't show house-elves, or any magical creatures, or an animagus in form – "

Mr Scrimgeour nodded in thought. "He could have been hiding at Hogwarts all these years; it's very difficult to detect an animagus, especially such a small creature."

"Pettigrew?" McGonagall asked. "I would have never suspected him to go through the process! What is his form?"

James grimaced. "A rat."

Percy Weasley looked pale. "A rat?"

"Yes, common garden variety, missing his left toe." Sirius informed him. "We didn't want the general public to know of Pettigrew's form, they'd be scared of every rat they came across."

Sophie noticed that Percy looked even paler at that. He blinked a few times, in stunned silence.

"Percy?" Penelope Clearwater, the head girl, worriedly prompted him.

"Scabbers," He weakly announced. "I had a pet rat, gave him to Ron when he first started Hogwarts. He's missing one a toe on his front paw."

"Percy, when did you get Scabbers?" Sirius asked.

"The fall before I started Hogwarts," Percy said. "There was frost on the ground and he was freezing, so Mum let me keep him as a pet. It would have been sometime late 1986."

"McGonagall, can you – ?"

She nodded, "I'll fetch Mr Weasley and Mr Potter."

There were a few terse moments as Sirius and Scrimgeour prepared to catch Pettigrew upon McGonagall's return. James kept a tight grip on Sophie's shoulder, shuffling her away from the center of the room. Soon enough McGonagall appeared with Ron and Harry in tow.

"Well?" demanded Fudge. "Do you have Pettigrew?"

McGonagall's lips formed a thin line. "It appears that the rat, Scabbers, is missing."

Ron looked at the floor. "He disappeared after Hermione got this cat, Crookshank. Is he really – "

Both Harry and Ron looked disturbed to know that a death eater may have been living in their dormitory this entire time, disguised as Ron's pet rat. Sophie felt a shiver of her own. Maybe afterwards she should get Artemis looked at.

"We don't know for certain, but it's the closest lead we had for years," said Sirius. "If he reappears, I want you to bring him to one of your professors, immediately. Understand?"

Fudge looked livid that a death eater had been hiding in Hogwarts all these years. "What will the press say?" He bemoaned.

He was ignored as everyone else started making plans to search the school and keep the students safe.

Dumbledore turned to address Percy and Penelope. "Mr Weasley and Ms Clearwater, I will ask you to suspend prefect patrols for the time being. I'd also ask that you have your prefects do hours in their common rooms instead, taking a head count at night and keeping their students from wandering out past curfew."

"Professor Dumbledore, if you're finished with the kids, I'd like to take them back to their common rooms," asked James.

"Yes, of course. I trust you know your way around," Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he glanced at Sirius and James.

James ushered the three of them out of the Headmaster's office, Sirius following along behind him.

"I'll talk these two back," Sirius nodded his head to Ron and Harry. "I'd like to take a closer look at their room anyway."

James looked like he wanted to hug Harry, although Sophie knew her brother would protest at that. Instead, he settled for ruffling Harry's hair and telling Ron and Harry to be careful.

"We always are," said Harry.

Ron grinned. "I'll keep him out of trouble, Mr Potter."

"Come along," Sirius said. "I'll see you at Christmas, Sophie. Take care of yourself."

James escorted her back to the Slytherin common room, making light talk as they went. Sophie was glad for the chance to see her Dad, and tell him everything that she couldn't put into writing.

As they made it to the dungeons, James stopped them.

"Sophie, I need you to promise me that you'll be careful, okay? Pettigrew is a very dangerous wizard and I don't want him to get the chance to hurt you. Last night when Snape owled – " James shook his head. His eyes held a trace of fear. "You and your brother mean the world to me."

"Dad - " Sophie weakly protested. "I'll be fine. I thought Pettigrew was after Harry anyway. You don't need to worry about me, really."

James gently smoothed her hair. "I don't want to scare you, but you're Harry's weak spot and it doesn't take the brightest wizard to catch that. Your brother fought a basilisk to save Ron's sister; imagine what he would do to save his own. I don't want either of you getting caught up in Pettigrew's plots."

He wrapped her in a rather tight hug, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you, Sophie. Please stay safe."

She nodded, but it was a few more seconds before James let her go.

"_Gurdyroot_." She said to the stone wall. The passage way to the common room appeared in front of her. She waved goodbye to her dad before she disappeared from the corridor and walked down the dimly light passage.

Students stopped talking and curiously looked to Sophie when she re-entered the common room.

"What's going on?" One sixth year demanded.

"Did your brother get into trouble again?" Draco Malfoy asked. Even louder, he said, "Potter's probably got himself expelled this time." There was some nervous laughter at this from some of the other students.

Sophie glanced around the common room until her eyes settled on Nephele, Astoria and Kitty. Astoria nodded and smiled encouragingly.

"They're searching for Pettigrew." She said. It wasn't any more than Snape had told them earlier. She wasn't sure how much she was supposed to share just yet.

"Why'd Dumbledore want to talk to _you_?" Pansy Parkinson haughtily asked. She immediately looked to Draco for his approval.

"Isn't it obvious?" Another student interrupted, "Someone's after the Boy-Who-Lived _again_."

There were more questions, but Sophie really couldn't answer how long they would be in there for or what the ministry was doing to find Pettigrew or what he did that was so bad.

"That's enough now," Jason waved them off. "She's a first year, she doesn't know anything important."

Sophie almost wanted to bristle at being dismissed as some stupid little first year, but was relieved when Jason led her over to her friends.

"Stay here," he quietly advised. "And whatever you know, keep it to yourself. Snape will explain everything we need to know later."

Her friends looked expectantly towards her, waiting to hear what had happened and why Snape had taken her to see Dumbledore. Even Lyssa inched closer to the group, wanting to hear an explanation. Sophie mutely shook her head; she still wasn't sure how much she should tell her new friends. She promised she'd tell them later, once they were away from the crowd.

By the time lunch appeared in the common room, everyone was restless from being stuck in Slytherin all morning. Sophie was famished, as the appearance of food reminded her that she hadn't eaten yet today. She loaded her plate with the little ham-and-cheese sandwiches before joining the rest of the first years where they had clustered together.

"Peter Pettigrew's been on the run for the past seven years," Zephyr Selwyn, a fellow first year, informed them. "My uncle works for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and said he's been driving Auror Black mad for years. He blew up the street and 13 muggles when Black first tried to arrest him. They say Pettigrew was right in the inner circle."

"Your uncle would know, wouldn't he?" Nephele asked.

Zephyr looked annoyed. "My uncle's a free man, Rosier."

Professor Snape returned in the afternoon with a giant kneazle in his arms. Sophie had to duck to hide her giggle at the stern looking professor holding the fluffiest cat she had ever seen.

Snape addressed them. "As you know, Peter Pettigrew was spotted inside Hogwarts last night. Pettigrew is a highly dangerous fugitive, with the animagus form of a rat. For your protection a number of aurors has searched the school for Pettigrew. As the search as turned up empty, we will resume our usual schedule tomorrow. Although I suggest you exercise an amount of caution in your spare time. This is Salazar, who will remain in Slytherin for your protection. I expect you to treat him in an appropriate manner."

"An army of kneazles." Nephele murmured in disbelief. "They're going to catch Pettigrew with an army of kneazles."

Each of the common rooms was equipped with a kneazle that patrolled, looking for rats. Salazar, Godric, Helga and Rowena were joined by a dozen others who wandered the hallways. The ministry had a "dead or alive" attitude about finding Pettigrew, especially since he was around students.

Sophie supposed being hunted by a cat was better than what was hunting Pettigrew outside the grounds. Dumbledore seemed put-out when he announced that evening that Hogwarts would be playing host to the dementors of Azkaban. Minister Fudge had insisted that they guard the borders of the school in an attempt to apprehend Pettigrew.

It wasn't until the following Saturday that the presence of the dementors was felt by the students. It was the first quidditch game of the year, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. It was supposed to be Gryffindor versus Slytherin, but Slytherin had put up a resistance that their seeker had been injured and needed time to recover before he could be expected to play. It was ridiculous as Malfoy's arm had been fine for a while now, magical healing had speeded the process, but he had argued that it still hadn't been properly 'rehabilitated'.

Sophie doubted Draco was much of a match against Harry anyway, but was glad she wouldn't be forced to choose between her house and her brother for her first game at Hogwarts.

She slipped into the Gryffindor stands to sit with Ron, Hermione and Neville. At least with them she could openly cheer for Harry and the Gryffindors without attracting dirty looks. Most of Slytherin was hoping Hufflepuff would win as it would better their overall chance at winning the Quidditch Cup. Sophie suspected they would cheer for anyone over Gryffindor, even if Hufflepuff was a threat to the Quidditch Cup. The rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin ran quite deep.

The stands sheltered them from the worst of the wind and rain, but they were still damp and cold. Sophie hoped the game wouldn't last long, for this would be a miserable match to watch. She squeezed by a few students, trying to spot Hermione or Ron, although it was difficult with everyone keep their cloaks up.

"Excuse me," she murmured as she walked past a group of girls.

They looked up at her and Sophie cursed her luck.

"What are _you_ doing here? These are the Gryffindor stands." Vane snootily asked.

Vane was getting increasingly territorial with the Gryffindor and Slytherin divide. Sophie was reminded in class, at meals, at the library, or really whenever she tried to speak with Elliott and Myron, that she should really be with her own house. It seemed every part of the school had reserved seating for Gryffindor only. It was nonsense of course, students were allowed to sit with other houses in class or at meals, but Vane didn't see past the green on Sophie's robes

"I'm cheering for my _brother_." She haughtily replied. "His friends invited me to sit with them."

Interfering with family was the one line Vane had yet to cross. Even she shut her mouth when Sophie sat with Harry at mealtimes. She must have known that Harry Potter wouldn't tolerate being told he couldn't talk to his sister.

She smiled as she spoke briefly to Elliott and Myron, _on Gryffindor territory_, before continuing on her way.

"Sophie!" Hermione called out over the wind. "We saved you a seat, here."

She joined Hermione under the large, red and gold umbrella that Hermione had charmed to repel rain. She did a drying charm on herself, and felt much better. Although it was still rather difficult to watch the game.

They could barely make out the blurs of red and yellow as they flew through the rain. Even Lee Jordan's commentary was muffled by the wind and cut out completely at times by the boom of thunder. At one point, Jordan announced that Gryffindor was leading 70-30.

Hermione made a noise beside her. "Harry won't even be able to see in this weather! He'll never catch the snitch like this."

Gryffindor scored again, although the cheer was delayed as they only realized it after Jordan announced Gryffindor was now leading 80-30.

A few moments later, Lee Jordan announced that Captain Wood had called for a time-out. Sophie could see the Gryffindor team gather in front of their stands.

"I've got it!" Hermione suddenly jumped up. She pulled her cloak over her head and was gone before anyone could ask what she was doing.

"Where's she going?" Sophie asked as Hermione pushed her way through the stands.

"No idea." Ron shrugged, "Usually when she says that, she runs off to the library."

Hermione reappeared, beaming as if she had figured something out. "I put the repelling-charm on Harry's glasses; he should be able to see now."

Wood resumed the game, the team taking off into the air once more.

Sophie shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. It felt like there was a dramatic drop in the temperature. Suddenly, she could hear screaming.

_"Crucio!" _She could hear another man screaming in pain.

A little girl started shrieking over the nose. _"Stop it! Stop it! You're hurting him!"_

"Sophie? _Sophie_!"

She blinked, finding herself curled into a ball on the ground. Her teeth were still chattering from the cold. Ron was kneeling in front of her, looking white beneath his freckles. Hermione hovered over his shoulder; her eyes were red-rimmed with tears.

"What happened?" She weakly asked.

Ron looked grim. "Dementors came onto the ground. Dumbledore shot some silver stuff at them, and they left the stadium right away. Can you stand?"

"I – I think so," she shakily said.

Ron pulled her to her feet. "Sophie, there's something else. We need to get to the hospital wing."

"Why?" She asked. They were all a little shaken, but otherwise looked fine.

"When the dementors came, Harry fell off his broom."

_A/N I think James, Sirius and Remus stopped using their nicknames after Pettigew betrayed them. It brought up a lot of unpleasant reminders for them. This is why Sophie is unfamiliar with the nicknames. Sirius also alerted Scrimgeour (his boss) to the fact that he, James and Peter were unregistered animagus. Very few people know, and Scrimgeour didn't see the point in forcing James and Sirius to register. I don't think James and Sirius would hold on to that secret if they thought it was how Pettigrew was getting around._


End file.
